General Psychology Services

CBT focuses on changing unhelpful thoughts and behaviours. CBT helps people to understand how the way they think impacts their mood and aims to teach them to think in a less negative way about life and about themselves. CBT also focuses on the important role that activity and behaviour plays in our mental health.
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What to expect: CBT is a very structured, logical approach to therapy. You can expect to closely examine your thoughts and develop practical ways to challenge and change unhelpful thoughts. You can also expect to examine your behaviours and start making change to these to include more helpful/adaptive behaviours and cutting down on unhelpful/maladaptive behaviours. CBT also has a strong focus on goal setting as well as homework.

The key approach of ACT (pronounced as the word ‘act’ rather than the initials ‘A-C-T’) is acceptance of what is out of one’s personal control, and the commitment to action that is going to lead to a rich, valued-filled life.
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What to expect: In ACT you can expect to examine your values closely; those things in life that are important to you. One of the key understandings of ACT is that pain is an inevitable part of life, however suffering (our attempts to avoid pain that actually increase it) can be lessened. In ACT you can expect to learn techniques to create some distance from difficult thoughts, as well as acceptance strategies of pain. Mindfulness is also a core component of all ACT work.

Schema Therapy combines elements of cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), psychodynamic, gestalt, attachment theory, and emotion-focused therapy, among others. Schema Therapy can be particularly useful for people who have had long-term mental health issues and have had limited success with other therapies.

What to expect: Early Maladaptive Schemas develop when core emotional needs in childhood are not met. Through Schema Therapy you will gain an understanding of what schemas are relevant to you, how these schemas developed for you, how these schemas relate to your mental health and experiences today. From this, you will develop new strategies to help you manage the impact of these schemas now and in the future.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is a structured therapy where a client focuses on a traumatic memory while simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulation (typically eye movements). This process is associated with a reduction in the vividness and intensity of emotions associated with that memory. EMDR is supported by extensive research, and is an effective method of therapy proven to assist people to recover from trauma and PTSD.

Hypnosis can be defined as a relaxed, altered state of consciousness, somewhat like a deep meditative state. Clinical hypnosis (sometimes referred to as hypnotherapy) is the use of hypnotic techniques for therapeutic benefit. Hypnosis induces an altered state of consciousness that allows the brain to be more receptive to suggestions of change, and is an effective way of accessing the subconscious to facilitate therapeutic change. Clinical hypnosis has made particularly large advancements in the past 50 years with multiple scientific studies and meta-analyses showing clinical hypnosis to be effective and safe with long-lasting benefits.
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Clinical hypnosis has also been shown to be helpful across a large variety of conditions and issues, including:

• Fear and phobias
• Anxiety
• Sexual problems
• Alcoholism
• Smoking control/cessation
• Speech disorders
• Chronic pain
• Boosting self-confidence/Self-esteem
• Increasing motivation
• Memory/concentration improvement
• Eating issues and weight control
• Increasing work/study/sporting performance

Gottman Therapy is one of the leading approaches to couples therapy, and research continually demonstrates it as the most effective approach.

What to expect: In Gottman Therapy you can expect to work with your partner on aspects of your relationship that you are hoping to improve. Tasks to improve aspects such as communication, affection, imtimacy, conflict, and negotiation are all potential areas of focus.